Lupita Nyong'o's Get-Gorgeous Secrets

Hard to imagine that up till a few short months ago most of us had never even heard of Lupita Nyong'o, the drop dead gorgeous star of "12 Years a Slave" who, judging by the never-ending stream of pictures we see of her, never seems to have a bad anything day.

Recently, the 30 year-old Mexico-born, Kenyan-raised, Yale School of Drama grad told Glamour about what floats her beauty boat.

For instance, she loves color. "I'm enjoying trying all different shades," says the girl who is just now getting in to the habit of wearing makeup. She is happy to give credit where credit is due, too, and says that makeup artist, Nick Barose, is inspired by her complexion and "knows how to work with it."

Why is she new to the makeup scene? "I went to an all-boys high school," she says, explaining that the school only accepted girls for AP classes and that they weren't allowed to wear makeup -- something that, on principle, did not sit well with Nyong'o.

"I found it so outrageous that an all-boys school could tell girls to not wear makeup! So I went on a campaign. I got a petition signed and everything. If a girl wants to wear makeup to boost confidence, why not? [But] I've worked hard to feel beautiful in my natural skin. Personally, I don't ever want to depend on makeup to feel beautiful."

Another thing she doesn't depend on to feel beautiful? Her hair. "The first time I cut all my hair off was when I was 19. I just got fed up going to the salon every week. I'd had enough! On a whim, it was off. I'ts low-maintenance."

Of course, it's easier to chop off all your hair and not look back when you have a near-perfect face and complexion. And, for the latter, Nyong'o depends on natural oils; "I use avocado oil and Hawaiian kukui oil on my face. I like to keep things natural, simple, and straightforward."